The 54-year-old was sacked by Leicester owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha two years ago, but his son Aiyawat – Leicester's vice-chairman, and the chief executive of King Power International – has decided to re-hire him.

After taking a year out of football following his Foxes exit, Pearson became manager of Championship club Derby County, but was sacked after 14 games following a row with Rams owner Mel Morris.

But now he's back in football to take on his first job abroad, and can't wait to get started with Leuven – currently fourth in the eight-team First Division B.

Pearson said: "I'm delighted to be back in football, to be working with King Power again and to be applying my experiences to the development of a club in a really exciting position."

Head honcho Aiyawatt added: "Nigel is a manager of extremely high standards, whose knowledge of the game, man-management qualities and winning mentality will help to strengthen the OHL setup for many years to come."